Plans to Attach Online Poker to Tax Payroll Bill Abandoned

Earlier in the week we reported on a rumor that lawmakers may be close to attaching an online poker amendment to a payroll tax act that is currently in Congress. It now appears that those rumors were either unsubstantiated or the plans to attach the legislation were abandoned altogether.

Reports from Publicgaming.com reveal that the amendment for online poker is officially off the table. This is actually not that surprising considering the history behind the bill. The payroll tax bill was hotly debated in Congress and at one point it seemed that a compromise between Republicans and Democrats was unlikely. However, late Wednesday night it was revealed that a compromise between the parties has been reached and the bill will proceed.

In addition, online gambling legislation has not been a popular topic among state lottery organizers and Indian tribes in the United States. State lotteries feel that online gambling will significantly hurt revenues and Indian tribes feel that their interests are being ignored in regards to online gambling and that their gaming interests will be hurt.

Now that this bill looks unlikely, lawmakers looking to legalize online poker may have to turn to the jobs bill that President Barack Obama wants in place before year’s end. This is entirely speculation at the moment, but considering that online poker is claimed to make as many as 250,000 jobs in the US if legalized, the jobs bill does seem to be the place to put it.

If the jobs bill plan fails for online poker, about the only option may be to try and push some type of stand alone legislation through the lame duck session of Congress at the end of the year. However, that would likely be unlikely as both parties have not passed any piece of significant legislation since Republicans took over the House of Representative in 2010.

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